A few livestreams ago, Chris played Rayman Origins on the PS3, which we all thoroughly enjoyed, even if Chris did die a lot. Today, I got an email saying that a demo was available via Nintendo’s eShop, so I thought I’d give it a try. I soon understood why Chris died a lot, and it’s not just because he always dies a lot.

Rayman Origins is as it should be: quirky with fun graphics, great character design, and amazing music. Being on the 3DS doesn’t really do much for it, however, and I found myself playing it with the 3D off.

As far as controls go, Rayman Origins is pretty easy to pick up. You can use either the circle pad or the control pad to move in any direction (I used the circle pad). Holding down either the L or R button will give you the ability to spring. X and Y allow you to hit, and if you hold it down, you will use a power attack. Alternatively, if you’re on Moskito, it will let you inhale if you hold it down. A and B allow you to jump or fly (if you hold) while you’re playing as Rayman; as Moskito you’ll fire or auto-fire (holding). Start, as usual, pauses the game.

The demo features three stages: Swinging Caves, Playing in the Shade, and Shooting Me Softly. Swinging Caves was everything that’s right about platformers. It was fun, fast-paced, and highly interactive. I died a few times in the beginning, but it wasn’t a frustrating line of deaths. It was more like a learning experience, where you say, “Oh!” and then change your tactics. Your goal is to get through the stage, defeating witches and releasing Electoons, while also avoiding obstacles like hands that will drag you down. Hitting the witches is fun because they inflate after you jump on them, and if you get them to explode, you can collect Lums from them on top of the ones hidden in the stage. Collecting King Lums triggers a short period of time where a ridiculously cute jingle plays and smaller Lums will be worth twice as much. There are also hidden coins that if you stay alive long enough after getting them, you’ll get extra Lums. If you collect a certain amount of Lums within a level, you can get more Electoons at the end.

If Swinging Caves was everything that’s right about platformers, Playing in the Shade was everything that’s wrong about platformers. This level was an example of a “treasure chest” level, on of those autoscrolling race levels where you have to chase a runaway treasure chest in order to receive a ruby tooth. The problem is, there was nothing enjoyable about this particular level. It was completely unforgiving. You start out with a heart floating around you, which allows you to get hit one extra time before dying. There’s no point in that, though, because if you get hit at all, you’re probably going to die anyway. The game doesn’t care. Get hit? Too bad, you’re probably going to die. Jump too far? Too bad, you’re probably going to die. One misstep, and you’re probably done. When I watched Chris play this on stream, I kept thinking to myself, Why does he keep dying? It can’t be that bad, can it? Yes, it can. Not enjoyable. I think I’d be happy if these types of levels never appeared in games ever again.

In Shooting Me Softly, you get on what appears to be a mosquito and either shoot enemies and obstacles or suck in enemies so you can shoot them at other things. This level was a lot of fun, especially for people who like old-school games like Gradius. It’s got some extra features to it, though, as you can shoot at reflective pads that bounce your shots at various angles, which are necessary in order to clear some aspects of the stage, and there are parts where you need to stay by certain orbs in order to not be attacked by bats. I would probably buy a game of just this, honestly, as it was that fun.

Two out of three really isn’t bad, especially when the one you don’t like is an example of optional unlockable levels that are only really for people who want to unlock a more challenging stage. If I get this game, I’ll probably still try to clear all those levels just because I want all ten ruby teeth to get to the Land of the Livid Dead, but I’m probably not going to worry about it too much if I need to ignore those in order to retain my sanity.

Though the demo only has three levels and you can only play as Rayman, the full game will have over 60 levels and you’ll be able to choose from quite a few of the classic characters from the Rayman universe. Ubisoft is telling us that the game will also include StreetPass functionality in that you can share your progression, number of collectibles, time played, unlocked achievements, and avatar… so in other words, StreetPass really means nothing for this game, but that’s okay, because it’s not like it negatively affects gameplay.

Personally, I recommend downloading the demo and seeing what you can get out of it. It’s easy enough to play on the 3DS even if I didn’t use the 3D all that much for it. At $29.99, I think that this will be worth picking up. Ubisoft did something right here, at least judging by the demo, and it seems like they’ve done justice to the Rayman name.

About Crystal

Kefkiroth

As both a 3DS owner and Vita owner, I can say that the 3DS demo is just a disaster compared to the Vita version. The Vita version is almost identical to its console counterparts, with smooth controls, flowing music, and all of the graphics look great on the OLED screen.
The 3DS version feels like a lazy port; there is some REAL noticeable lag, ESPECIALLY when collecting large bubbles of lums and getting a cage. This really messes you up in “Playing in the Shade”, which felt like a disaster compared to the Vita version. Treasure chest levels are actually some of the BEST bits of platforming I’ve ever played, but since they focus so much on timing, the 3DS’ lag really makes it a dumbed down experience.

And then the music; collect a King Lum, and there’s some serious cracking that is noticeable. I love Rayman Origins’ music, but the dumbed-down sound files really affect it.

Seriously, if you have one of the big three consoles or a Vita, get one of those versions than this lazy port. 3DS owners deserve better.

http://www.facebook.com/Jyosua Joshua Moore

That’s more a limitation of the 3DS, really. It does not handle ports from higher end systems well. I’ve noticed issues with music in a variety of games. I think on of the most noticeable examples I’ve seen was BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II. The music has noticeable distortion due to the compression required by and the speakers of the 3DS. Not to mention the hardware is just not as capable of the processing power required to match that of a higher-end system.

It’s a shame. The 3DS is a great system and I love it to death, but god it’s so underpowered.

http://gamingbus.com/ Crystal Steltenpohl

Odd, I didn’t notice any cracking in the music or lag, but I also didn’t have anything to compare it to. I did notice a decrease in the graphical quality, but I just figured that was the difference between seeing it on a PS3 versus a handheld.

But your lag comment seems like it would explain the difficulty I had with the Treasure Chest levels. Jesus Christ I felt like I couldn’t do anything right.

Kefkiroth

When I first played the treasure chest levels on Vita, I also thought they were impossible. It’s a nice learning experience however, and some basic guidelines I use while doing these levels are:
-keep sprinting no matter what-choose the right jump (short jump as opposed to a long jump)-jump at the right time, of course-never use a spin attack to speed yourself up unless needed; you may overshoot a jump and lead yourself to death

The 3DS demo makes it a REAL chore, though, especially if this is your first time playing through these levels. Don’t get too bothered if you die a lot. Blame the 30 FPS. 😛

MastersAmuel

Don’t hate. That was a pure hate comment. Though the 3ds version looks nothing near as stunning as the Vita one, doesn’t mean u should put out hate comments. I have both Vita and 3ds and I have Rayman Origins on Vita and the demo on 3ds. The Vita version looks better because for fucks sake we’ve known the Vita is a better piece of hardware but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy a great game even if it doesn’t look as good as the Vita version. I still played the demo and enjoyed it. Btw, I have not experienced any lag on my 3ds version so maybe you have a faulty 3ds??? Maybe or something might be interfering? Idk.

Kefkiroth

I don’t care how the game looks; how it plays is what matters.
And I’m not hating on the 3DS, I’m hating on the lazy port. I love my 3DS, with AAA titles like KI:Uprising and soon KH3D.

And you’d need to have a Vita to be able to see the difference more. There’s a slight input delay, and the 30 FPS cap that affects your timing in the treasure chest levels significantly.

And I don’t have a faulty 3DS, all other games play fine. Don’t just assume so; my Nintendo handhelds have never gotten broken or glitchy.

Ubisoft has never played well with Nintendo handheld ports anyways.

Scotts

There’s a reason it’s a pure hate comment, the demo for the 3DS is trash if you’ve played any other verion. The graphics suck (pixelated compared to my other 7 3DS games), the video lags, and the sound cuts off short in some instances. I LOVE this game, and of my 50+ PS3 games it is considered by me as one of the best. This port in it’s current demo state is one of the worst games I’ve ever played.

Johnny_goldsborough

Agreed, I love the vita vita version and have almost gotten my platinum trophy for it. The demo on 3ds is not as responsive as the vita. Not even close, plus it just looks much better on the vita. Hopefully for 3ds owners who do not own a vita as well, this lagging is just a product of a quickly thrown together demo and will not be present in the final product. Being a Nintendo fanboy, I’m disappointed.

I think this guys ideas are ridiculous, Rayman Origins is a brilliant game. The Tricky Treasures are supposed to be tough, thats why their called Tricky Treasures. And with the 3D effect in use, it makes the game look EPIC!! And I mean EPIC!! You can do all sorts in this game. All Tricky Treasures are fun even if you keep getting irritated at constant dying. I kept dying in the Demo version but I kept at it and now I have mastered Playing In The Shade. And it didnt even take that long for me. You practically just have to keep jumpin till you reach the end and thats it. And at the end where the platforms keep collasping gives it loads more action because you have to keep jumpin or you fall. Anyway, thats my opinion and I hope others will agree with me on it.